Zuckerberg’s $110 Million Palo Alto Compound Draws Zoning Scrutiny

Meta Platforms Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has quietly assembled an 11-home compound in Palo Alto’s Crescent Park, spending more than $110 million since 2011, according to reports from the New York Times and TechCrunch. Public records show Zuckerberg used a series of limited-liability companies to buy the properties, some at double their market value, then combined five of them into a single residence that now features guest houses, landscaped gardens, a hydro-floor pool that converts into a dance floor, and a seven-foot statue of his wife, Priscilla Chan. Building permits also reveal roughly 7,000 square feet of subterranean space described as basements by the owner and as “bunkers” by neighbors. Long-time residents say eight years of near-constant construction, heavy truck traffic and surveillance cameras have upended daily life and reduced on-street parking. One house within the enclave is operating as a private school for 14 pupils—an activity city zoning rules do not allow—yet officials have taken little action. While Zuckerberg’s spokesperson says the family has followed local codes and offers neighbors advance notice of disruptive events, city council members now signal they may tighten rules to prevent future piecemeal takeovers of established neighborhoods.